←back to thread

Apple Announces App Store Small Business Program

(www.apple.com)
830 points todsacerdoti | 2 comments | 18 Nov 20 11:04 UTC | HN request time: 0.545s | source
Show context
gtsteve ◴[18 Nov 20 11:19 UTC] No.25135526[source]▶
Looks nice but it doesn't solve my fundamental problem:

1. I invest loads of time and effort developing an app

2. Apple rejects it

-or-

2. Apple approves it

3. I ship a new update

4. Apple rejects the update and now decides my app should have been rejected retroactively.

I'm especially concerned about what happened to Hey and others but my customers are demanding smartphone apps and there are still limits to what can be done with a mobile web browser.

replies(11): >>25135538 #>>25135628 #>>25135644 #>>25135672 #>>25135968 #>>25135975 #>>25136030 #>>25136106 #>>25136507 #>>25137973 #>>25139367 #
user-the-name ◴[18 Nov 20 11:21 UTC] No.25135538[source]▶
This really isn't a problem in practice, unless you are going out of your way to try to bend the rules set in place, especially about sales.
replies(6): >>25135567 #>>25135586 #>>25135624 #>>25135693 #>>25135898 #>>25141783 #
gtsteve ◴[18 Nov 20 11:31 UTC] No.25135624[source]▶
Unless you're competing with something Apple is planning to bring out (parental control apps before screen time stats, etc).

I don't think I'm competing with Apple at all today, but who knows what they're planning for their next features?

replies(3): >>25135647 #>>25135739 #>>25136279 #
the_other ◴[18 Nov 20 11:46 UTC] No.25135739[source]▶
Surely this is true for all developers, at any size? And also just about any product, or service, in any industry?

As counterexamples: Apple sell Logic, yet it has numerous competitors, also all fairly successful: ProTools, Live, Cubase, Reaper, Ardour, FruityLoops. Apple give their customers Notes, Reminders and Mail for free, on all their devices (i.e. you don't even need to get hold of apps for these functions), and yet we also have Evernote, Notion, Airmail, Spark etc etc.

Does the App Store monopoly significantly change the nature of app competition? I'm not convinced, but I'm open to learning about it.

replies(4): >>25135892 #>>25136060 #>>25136304 #>>25141776 #
1. swebs ◴[18 Nov 20 13:07 UTC] No.25136304[source]▶
>Surely this is true for all developers, at any size? And also just about any product, or service, in any industry?

No, this is very unique to Apple, and only on iOS. Its the reason why iPhone web browsers have to use Safari under the hood.

replies(1): >>25149067 #
2. the_other ◴[19 Nov 20 13:07 UTC] No.25149067[source]▶
That particular case sees Apple setting the rules of the market, not acting anti-competitively.

All the browser-makers successfully compete on features, as proved by the continued existence of multiple browsers on the App Store. Hell, Firefox can even afford to cannibalise its own market with two versions of Firefox (FF, and FF Focus).

Furthermore all the big name browser makers sell their offering at "free". In my view, this makes browsers an outlier in any discussion of Apple's anti-competitive behaviour. It doesn't shut down the conversation, just takes browsers out of it.